1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a practice racket especially adapted for practice of a tennis service, as well as other tennis strokes, and also for warm-up exercises.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One of the more difficult maneuvers to execute in a tennis game is an effective service. In serving the tennis ball, the ball is tossed a moderate distance above the player's head, and the player swings the racket in an overhead arc to impact the ball as the racket is traveling through the uppermost portion of the arc. The usual method of practicing a service is to actually "serve" the ball on a conventional tennis court or against a wall or other barrier spaced some distance away from the server. Unfortunately, a tennis court may not always be available, or when available a number of balls must be used and chased after each serve, or when a barrier is used there is often not sufficient room to engage in such practice. Thus, quite often the only alternative is for the player to simply swing his racket through the serving motion. However, this does not permit the player to coordinate the tossing up of the ball and striking the ball as a continuous serving motion.
In the prior art there are a number of practice rackets for a variety of purposes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,503,611, McPherson, shows a practice racket in which the strings of the racket are removed and a pouch is mounted over the racket frame. This pouch has a central ball port through which the tennis ball can enter into the interior of the pouch, and also a double bottom at the backside of the pouch to receive the impact of the tennis ball. When the racket is swung at the ball in a manner that the ball passes through the entry port, the ball is then retained in the pouch for a subsequent stroke. One of the problems with this device is that for the pouch to properly perform its retaining function, the entry port must be made sufficiently small so that there is little margin for error in the player's serving motion. In other words, if the server strikes the ball at a location spaced moderately from the center area of the racket, the ball is not able to pass through the entry port, and is thus propelled away from the server. Furthermore, the pouch material and construction presents a different weight and stroke air resistence when compared to a conventional tennis racket.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,540,823, Mairhofen, illustrates a ball catching device mounted to a racket where there are two plates having retaining teeth thereon. When a ball strikes the area between the plates, these two plates close on the ball with the teeth causing the ball to be retained in the racket. This apparatus also requires that the ball be impacted at a precise location quite close to the centerline of the racket. Unlike the present invention, this device is designed to be used in a new game and not for the practice of conventional tennis.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,738,976, Vallieres, and also British Patent Specification No. 2042, Greenham, having an acceptance date of May 22, 1902, disclose rackets having cords for retaining stationary tennis balls, shoes or the like when the racket is not being used. U.S. Pat. No. 1,364,331, Vaile, discloses a tennis racket in which the impact strings are made somewhat looser than usual to permit a game similar to tennis to be played with a dead ball in an area of smaller dimensions than the conventional tennis court. U.S. Pat. No. 2,080,642, Timpe, shows a racket having resilient rubber strings and edge mounting, the intended purpose of which is to provide greater resiliency in play and to improve the durability of the racket.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,078,099, Hyman, illustrates a combined ball paddle and catching receptacle. One surface of the paddle is used to strike the ball, while the other side of the paddle has a semirigid woven material in the general configuration of a basket. When the ball strikes the basket, it becomes enmeshed therein so as to be retained by the woven material.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,206,195, Myers, shows a baseball batting aid comprising a handle and a peripheral frame to which is attached a net. The particular purpose of this batting aid is to teach the user to properly position his wrists during the batting stroke. If the peripheral frame is properly positioned during the stroke, and if the ball is engaged within the area of the peripheral frame, the ball enters the net and is retained thereby. Also representative of the prior art are U.S. Pat. No. 2,025,995 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,845,953.
While the prior art known to the applicant does permit a ball to be engaged and retained by a racket in a variety of ways, there still remains a need for a practice racket that closely resembles the configuration, weight and handling characteristics of a conventional tennis racket by which a tennis stroke, particularly a tennis service stroke, can be practiced in a manner to closely simulate an actual game stroke or service and allow the ball to be struck anywhere on the playing surface from different angles such as is experienced in actual play to accommodate the entire range of player ability, while retaining the ball in the racket so that such practice can be conducted in a relatively confined area. Thus, it is an object of the present invention to fulfill such a need.